Marikina Mayor Marcy Teodoro, on Friday, declared a state of calamity over the city due to the flooding and damages brought by Typhoon Ulysses.
“Ngayong umaga, nagdedeklara ako ng state of calamity sa lungsod ng Marikina upang sa ganon ay mabigyan ng pagkakataon ang ating mga kababayan na makabawi sa hirap at pinsalang nararanasan nila ngayon,” Teodoro said in an interview on Unang Balita.
(This morning, I am declaring a state of calamity in the city of Marikina so that our countrymen can be given the opportunity to recover from the hardship and damage they are experiencing now.)
Teodoro added that many Marikina residents were affected not only by typhoon Ulysses but also by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The declaration of a state of calamity will allow the Marikina local government to tap into its calamity funds to help the affected residents.
The Marikina River overflowed due to Ulysses’ heavy overnight rains and flooded a large part of the city.
Although the floods have subsided, the mayor said online, and distance learning classes are suspended in the city until Tuesday next week.
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Marikina placed under state of calamity due to Ulysses
“Para mabigyan sila ng pagkakataon na ma-retrieve yung mga modules na ginagamit nila na inanod o nasira ng baha,” Teodoro said.
(To give them a chance to retrieve the modules they use that were swept away or damaged by the flood.)
The Marikina mayor said doctors would visit barangays to check on the health condition of residents.
The typhoon Ulysses brought back fears and painful memories of Ondoy, which heavily damaged the city in 2009.
Typhoon Ketsana, known in the Philippines as Tropical Storm Ondoy, was the second-most devastating tropical cyclone of the 2009 Pacific typhoon season, causing $1.09 billion in damages and 747 fatalities, only behind Morakot earlier in the season, which caused 789 deaths and damages worth $6.2 billion.
Meanwhile, at 4:00 AM today, the center of Severe Tropical Storm “ULYSSES” was estimated based on all available data at 415 km West of Iba, Zambales.
“ULYSSES” is forecast to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility this morning.